We had some left over pastry from our Valentines hearts so thought we’d make these jam tarts. The jam tarts would be great for an Alice in Wonderland themed party or just a fun snack the kids can enjoy making. They are so easy to do and the kids really enjoyed getting to roll out the pastry, cut out the tarts and fill them with jam.

You can make them even more quickly if you use shop bought short crust pastry but don’t be put off making pastry because it’s too hard. Try it and you’ll see how easy it is!

Method

Make the pastry

Get your toddler to weigh the flour (375g) out and put it in a large mixing bowl. Measure the butter (260g) and cut into small pieces before adding to your bowl. Rub together until it looks like breadcrumbs. This is a fun step for kids to do if they like getting their hands dirty.

Get your child to measure the sugar (125g) and add to the bowl. Crack the egg into the bowl.

Mix everything until it’s coming together then tip out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold until the pastry comes together – try not to over mix, as soon as it happily forms a ball you’re done. Wrap the pastry up in cling film and pop it in the fridge for 15+ minutes or so.

Make the jam tarts

Preheat the oven to 180C/170C Fan/350F and grease a 12 hole muffin tray with oil or butter.

Start with half your pastry dough to make it easier to roll. We used half for these tarts and half for our Jam hearts.

Get your toddler to lightly flour your work surface and then roll the pastry out until it is about 3mm thick. When you’re rolling it out, be sure to turn it 90 degrees between turns – it helps to stop it sticking to your work surface, and also ensures you get an even thickness. When it gets a bit bigger, roll it round your rolling pin before rotating it to stop it tearing.

Use a round cutter, (approximately 10cm) and get your kids to cut out bases for your tarts. Gently place them in your muffin tray. Use a small ball of pastry to push the tarts down into the holes without tearing the cases.

Using a teaspoon, fill each tart case with some jam.

Cut out smaller circles of pastry and top your tarts with them. Re-roll out your pastry until you have used up all the pastry and have 12 tarts.
When you’ve finished all the jam tarts brush them with a beaten egg to glaze them.

Bake the jam tarts

Pop the tarts into the oven for approximately 10 minutes. They’re ready when they have turned a nice golden brown colour.

Leave them for a minute to cool in the tray then carefully remove each tart from the muffin tin and leave on a wire rack to cool.